U.S. sorghum destined for Morocco

Morocco’s livestock and poultry sector will soon have high protein U.S. sorghum available for inclusion in feed rations.

On Oct. 26, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) loaded 25,000 metric tons (984,000 bushels) of U.S. sorghum on a vessel in Galveston, Texas, destined for the North African country.

Kurt Shultz, U.S. Grains Council director in the Mediterranean and Africa, said the sale was a result of developing long-term relationships and sharing information with top feed manufacturers in Morocco.

“The sorghum was purchased by Graderco, a trading company in Casablanca we have worked with for many years,” said Shultz. “They know what we tell them is the truth. When you have trust, you have a good chance at providing customers high-quality feed ingredients produced by U.S. farmers.”

The recent purchase occurred subsequent to a visit earlier this year by Chris Corry, USGC senior director of international operations, and other Council representatives with Graderco officials. Corry said the representatives of Graderco were misinformed about U.S. sorghum at the time of the visit.

“They told us when they enquired about sorghum they were either told there was none available or the price exceeded other options,” said Corry. “We set the record straight by providing them with real-time market information, provided to us by the United Sorghum Checkoff Program (USCP), on the U.S. sorghum crop and pricing. With the information we provided, Graderco made the purchase. Without accurate information and a trusting relationship, the purchase would not have been made.”

Corry said the Council has intensified its sorghum marketing efforts as a result of funding provided by USCP, which was formed last year.

“We have a good quality product and are seeing very good yields and test weights coming out of the fields. I am optimistic the crop will move quickly from the elevators to the end-user. I look forward to the continued success from the sorghum checkoff efforts and the investment with the U.S. Grains Council to market our crop overseas.”